But after turning things around in the next two rounds, Esparza (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) rebounded to edge out Calvillo (6-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) via unanimous decision, winning the fight with scores of 29-28 from all three judges.

The women’s strawweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 219 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

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Calvillo got off to a strong start early on, taking Esparza down and then dominating her on the mat for most of the first round. But after Esparza managed to reverse the position in the final seconds of the opening frame, Calvillo seemed to want to keep it standing in the second, which may have allowed Esparza back in the fight.

While she didn’t have the most diverse striking arsenal, Esparza did manage to do some solid work with her right hand, and her aggressive approach in the stand-up managed to keep Calvillo on the defensive.

For her part, Calvillo did a solid job of shutting down some Esparza takedown attempts at key moments, but struggled to replicate her success in the opening round. With time ticking down in the third, it seemed to be anyone’s fight, which might be why both women ended the bout with striking flurries in an attempt to sway the judges.

But when the scorecards were tallied, all three judges saw it for Esparza, giving her the win via scores of 29-28 across the board, much to the shock and dismay of Calvillo.

“Everyone thinks of me more as a wrestler, but it was the game plan to beat her on the feet tonight,” Esparza said. “I’ve been working with my team on striking for a while now, and I think the low kick was really effective in this fight. There was a lot of hype around Cynthia coming into the fight, but that just served more as a motivator for me. I may not be a trash talker, but I prove myself each time I fight. Since I defeated Rose (Namajunas) for the inaugural strawweight title, that could be a fight that makes sense next. But I’m here to fight anyone, so I’ll talk to the UFC and see what they want to do.”

Esparza has now won two straight in the UFC, with her last loss coming to Randa Markos in February. Calvillo’s loss is the first of her pro career.